Mechanism for discharging biscuits or the like from conveyers



Aug. 9, 1932. J. c. PATERSON ET AL 1,871,276

MECHANISM FOR DISCHARGING BISCUITS OR THE LIKE FROM CONVEYERS F iled Jan. 15. 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 r-% I H L Jo/m Carrie P62567480 62907962072050 M25072 gran/Mow Aug. 9, 1932- J. c. PATERSON ET AL 1,871,276

MECHANISM FOR DISCHARGING BISCUITS OR THE LIKE FROM CONVEYERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 an 0 m m d Z P k% W T m 1 Z aw 9% JG \1 ,0 \M

Patented Aug. 9, 1932 JOHN CURRIE PATERSON AND GEORGE DONALD WILSON, O15 WILLESDEN, LONDON,

ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO BAKER PERKINS COMPANY, INC., OF SAGINAW, MICHI- GAN, A COBPORATIGN OF NEW YORK MECHANISM FOR DISGHARGINGJBISCUITS OR THE LIKE FROM CONVEYERSZII Application filed January 15, 1932,

This invention relates to devices fordischarging. biscuits or other articles similar in form from the pans of an oven conveyer, cooling conveyer or the like. More particularly, it pertains to the discharge of biscuits from conveyers of the traveling tray type, wherein the trays are tilted at the point of discharge, such discharge being eiiected heretofore by the action of gravity. a

The prior machines the discharge of the biscuits was uncertainand diflicult to time ac curately for various reasons. Thus biscuits on the trays might. adhere with various degrees of tenacity. It was necessary to tilt the trays to an extreme angle and to provide means for knocking or vibrating the trays to dislodge the biscuits; Thus the biscuits slld onto the recelving conveyer with a considerable force, which resulted in breakage or the 5 more fragile kinds. I Furthermore, the'impositive means of 'dislodging the biscuits resulted in their leaving the tray at uneven in tervals over a considerablespace of time, and some of the biscuits would stick and be carried away by the tray away from the unloading station. V] hen trays were being rapidly unloadedin sequence this delay in discharge would cause part of one batch to overlap the biscuitsof the preceding batch.

One object of this invention is to provide improved means for positively dislodin'vthe biscuits from the trays at their point ofdis' chargegin the conveyer run, precluding the necessity for inclining the trays to a sharp I: 1: angle and reducing the violence of their fall onto the receiving conveyer or other surface.

A further object of the invention is to effeet the discharge of the batches at precise and regular intervals so that they are properly spaced from each other on the receivlng conveyer. The means by which the above ob-- jects are accomplished comprises essentially a sweep or brush suspended on plvotal arms positioned above the conveyer at a point of discharge of the trays and positioned to dra-g c or be drawn over; the length of the incline pan to sweep the biscuits therefrom. wholl or partly by thehorizontal withdrawal of the panbythe conveyer. i

further object of the invention is to pro Serial No. 586,806, and me e Britain Jame 21,1931.

vide a specific form of brush andarm 'assem; bly, whereby the arm is provided with an in-' clined cam surfaceto be engagedby'the lead-.1 ing edgeof the pan, so'that the brush and arm are raised by the for'ward'motion of thepan conveyer, until the-brush reaches its operative position at the leading edge of the pan, v A further feature of the invention consists in an improved mechanism forimparting longitudinal reciprocatibn to the upper pivotal'end of the brusharm, whereby the brush is given a more nearlyr jectilinear movement over'the' pan surface than it has when thepivk otal centerarm is stationary. i Q

Another feature'ofthe invention consists in having two adjacent unloading. stations in which the pans are tilted to a lesser and greater inclination for dischargingbiscuits from smooth and wireemesh surfacedpansrespectively, together with a separate brush means at each station, either of which can beput into operation according to the ;kind of pan being emptied. V i

Another novel feature of theinvention is the provision of a chute at an .unloading'sta- 75 tion to receive biscuits from the pans and deliver them onto the receiving surface,mountedfor reciprocation parallel hto the travel of the'tilted pans,yand actuating means timedin with or driven from the pan-conveyor drive, topcause: thechute to follow up-each pan while it is being emptied, andthen return t o receive the biscuits from the follow-- ing pa-n. In addition there is a novel op erativeconnection between the chute-actuat-i ing mechanism and the .mechanism for re-' ciprocating the upper pivotal end ofithe brush arms, which effects the operation of the brush means for dislodging the biscuits "and the reciprocation of there'ceiving chute synchronously with the travel of I each pan through the discharge zone. r

A preferred embodiment'of twoff'orm's of the invention is shown'in the drawings, to which we-now'referi' i j "Fig. 1 is a-diagrammatic side elevation, showing thexinvention applied to a cooling. conveyerasemployed. infa continuous biscuitplant;

Figs. 1 and 2, the conveyer track 1 is provide at a convenient point of ischa ge, W th a own ard y in l ned se e i to w rth ear end o t c Veyer pan 2 a depressed short horizontal section 1b and an'l pward inclined section 10 which restores the pans .to their horizontal position.

To permit of this tilting action, the pan v carriages 2a are supported at their forward 6 for chain {1.

ends by pivotal" connection to a roller 3 of the conveyer chain 4.. Their rear ends are provided withrollers 5 which travel on track 1, which is of narrower gagethan the guides (Boilers 7 do not function inthe invention, but come into action when the trays are carried around conveyer sprockets elsewhere in the cooling machine) 'A conveyer '8, preferably traveling in the opposite direction to that of the pan conv'eyer, is positioned below the lower edge of the inclined pan 2 to receive the batches of biscuits dischargedtherefrom. This receiving conveyer can discharge onto another conveyer '9 leading to the packing station if d e sired;

In the frame of the cooling machine a cross shaft 10 is journal'led, on which one or more arms 11 are pivoted. Each arm carries at its 'lower end a brush or scraper 12, a sufli cient number of arms and brushes being provided to sweep the full width of the pans 2. A single wide brush may be employed, but a plurality Iofnarrow brushes is preferred to accommodate any inequalities of the pan sur face. Each arm 11 extends in the direction q of travel of the pans, and its lower end is bent downward. This outer end is provided with a wearing surface or cam-surface 13 adapted to be engaged by. the leading edge of the pan, or equivalent portion of the pan carriage. The arms 11 normally hang in oted cross shaft 10 is provided with a pair ofarms 14 carryingacross 15 which is P9 tion d b ne h h yb u h arm- A hand lever 16 is lined. to 10 to raise, bar

and a locking pawl 17 is mounted on the hand lever in position to engage a ratchet 18. In its lower position the bar 15 acts as a stop to limit the downward motion of the brushes when they are not in engagement with the surface of the tray or pan.

At either side of the conveyer side-plates 19 are mounted so that the edges of the pans pass between them and the biscuits engaged by the brush are prevented from falling from the sides of the pan.

The operation of the device is as follows:

As a pan 2 is carried along by the conveyer it pushes the brush arms 11 upward, causing them to pivot about cross shaft 10 until the brushes 12 ride over the leading edge of the pan. Meanwhile the rear roller 5 of the pan carriage 2a has just traveled down the inclined track 1a onto section 16, and the pan is tilted with its rear edge in close proximity to the conveyer 8. The inclination of the pan is such that the biscuits have no tendency to slide from the pan by gravity, but as the pan moves forward horizontally the brush slides over the face of the pan and brushes the biscuits before it, so that by the combined downward movement of the brush and the horizontal travel of the pan the biscuits are discharged in close formation.

.-The speed of the receiving .conveyer 8 is preferably adjusted with respect to the speed of the pan conveyer 4 so. that the successive pans of biscuits are discharged one after the other without a substantial gap or interval between the batches;v i v The brushes 12 can 'be given a pathof travel relative to the surface of the pans which ape proximates a straight line by appropriately selectingthe length of the brush arms 11 and the position of the pivot shaft 10. These should be chosen so that the brushes move through their stroke from the leading edge to the rear edge of a pan 2 while the pan travels about one-halfof its pitch. For example, it has been found that'brush armshaving a radius about equal to the pitch of the pans effect a satisfactory discharge if the chord of the arcof their stroke is slightly less than sixty degrees to the horizontal, when the pans are inclined at an angle of about twenty de grees. V

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 3 provision is-made for dealing with two" classes of biscuits, namely,those which are baked on smooth pans and those baked on wire trays. The friction between the biscuits and the wire trays is greater than in the ease of the biscuits on smooth pans, s0 thatthe best angles of inclination for the discharge from the two kinds of trays will naturally bediiferent. Accordingly, theconr veyer track 21 associated with the rear roll-. ers 5 .of the pans is provided with a downwa dly n ne e i n 2 eading t e her-t zontal portion 216 which maintains the trays at. a an le-Suitab e f-f r empty ng "smoot pans. This horizontal portion merges into a second downwardly inclined part 210 leading to a horizontal portion 210? which produces a greater inclination of the carriages 2a, desirable when dealing with wire trays. The horizontal portion 2101 leads to an upwardly inclined part 216 which returns the trays to their normal horizontal position.

Pivoted brush arms 22 and 23 are provided for the two discharge zones 21b and 21d respectively. Associated with the arm 23 is a pivotally mounted bar 24 operated by the hand lever 25, whereby the brushes may be moved to the inoperative position and prevented from dropping too low while in the operative position.

Similarly, the brushes 22 are provided with a supporting means 26 actuated by the handle 27.

Owing to the difi'erence of level between the two discharge zones 21?) and 2161 there is a considerable distance between the rear edge of the pans and the receiving conveyer 28 when discharging biscuits from smooth pans. In order to bridge this distance and avoid damage to the biscuits a chute 29 is provided which receives the biscuits from the pans and delivers them to the conveyer 28.

This chute 29 is adapted to reciprocate back and forth so that it follows the move mentof a pan while its biscuits are being discharged.

Conveniently, a second chute 30 is provided to receive biscuits discharged in the zone 2161; This chute also reciprocates back and forth to follow the trays while discharging.

The discharge chutes 29 and 30 are mounted upon a wheeled carriage formed by axles 31 and 32 connected together by spacing bars 33, the axles having wheels 34 running on rails 35. The axle 32 is connected by coupling rods 36 having an adjustable connection with a cross-shaft 37 carried by a pair of pivotally mounted arms 38 which carry rollers 39 engaging rotary cams 40, whereby movement to follow up the trays is imparted to the chutes 29 and 30. Return movement is effected by springs 41. r The chutes 29 and 30 are resiliently mounted by means of springs 42 surrounding rods connected to the chutes and passing through eye plates 43 on the bars 33 and coupling rods 36 of the reciprocatory carriage.

It will be appreciated that the discharge chutes must reciprocate rearwardly to the right in Fig. 3 in time to cooperate with the following pan, and that this rearward reciprocation must not commence until all the biscuits have been swept off the pan being discharged.

It is found in discharging biscuits from smooth pans in the zone 21?) that it may be necessary to provide a movement of the brush arms 22 additional to their arcuate movement in order to deliver the biscuits in proper spaced relation on the receiving conveyer 28. This additional movementof the brush arms is necessary because the natural sweep by gravity of the brushes down the pan is slower, due to the slight inclination of the pan,

in this zone. Accordingly the brush fulcrum 5 I mounted on the brackets 47. The levers arev Y slotted at their lower ends to embrace the axle 31 while their upper ends are connected by links 49 to the blocks 45. By this arrange ment the brush arms 22 will have imparted to them a rectilinear reciprocation in addition to their arcuate movement, thus producing a more rapid discharge of the biscuits from the tray.

This reciprocation of the brush arms 22 will occur during the period when the other brush arms 23 are operative to discharge biscuits from wire trays in the zone 2103, when the brush arms 22 are raised to-their inoperative position by the supporting means 26. For this reason the supporting means is provided with rollers 26a surfaces 22a on the arms 22.

While we show the reciprocating discharge chutes applied to a cooler having two discharge stations, or stages, a single chute constructed according to the principle, set forth may be employed in connection with a single discharge station, as shown in Fig. 1. 1

Means for longitudinally reciprocating the pivot shaft may also be employed where but one brush, or set or brushes side by side, is used to effect the discharge of biscuits at one point-only. Further, we do not limitour selves to the specific form of mechanism for effecting such reciprocation. For example, a compound link motion, or other well-known mechanism may be employed.

The essence of the invention resides in tilting the pans not beyond the angle of repose. of the biscuits on the particular kind'of surface of the pans employed, and whileso tilted, sweeping the biscuits therefrom by a brush or scraper means operating by the influence of gravity and the travel of the pans under the brushes alone, or in conjunction with a positive withdrawal ofv the brush means in the direction opposite to the travel of the pans. 1 v I Having thus fully described our application, what we claim and desire to secure by 1 Letters Patent is: I v

1. In combination with a continuously driven conveyer for pans of baked biscuits and the like, means for tilting each pan as it travels through a discharge station so that V which engage guide era itsleading edge is higher than its trailing edge and it is inclined not beyond the angle ofrepose of the biscuits thereon, and an arm carrying brush means at its'lower end, said {harm pivotally suspended above the conveyer 'for -'oscillatory motion lengthwise thereof, and adapted to be engaged by the leading edge of a pan, raised thereby until it rides over said leading edge, and to sweep said brush means over the inclined pan by the l action of gravity and the forward travel of the-pan.

'2. A structure as claimed 1n cla1m 1, wherein the upper end of said arm 1S ournaled to a pivot shaft movable lengthwise of 1 the conveyer and means timed-in with the ill,

conveyer driving mechanism is provided for reciprocating said plVOt shaft to move it counter to the travel of the conveyor durlng thgoppration of the brush means.

means to co-operate with and empty the pans as they pass through said second discharge station, and means to put either of said brush means out of action while the other is operating. I r l 5; In combination with a conveyer for pans of baked biscuits and the'like, means for tilting each pan as it travels through a discharge station so that its leading edge is higherthan its trailing edge, an arm positioned above the conveyer carrying brush means at its lower end and journaled at its upper end on a pivot shaft for oscillatory motion lengthwise of the conveyer, said arm adapted to be engaged by the leading edge of a pan, raised thereby until it rides over said leading edge, and to sweep said brush means over the inclined pan by the action of gravity and the motion of the pan, said pivot shaft moveable lengthwise of the conveyer, an inclined chute mounted at the discharge station beneath the conveyer for reciprocation lengthwise thereof, and means actuated by the conveyer driving mechanism to simultaneously move said pivot shaft counter to the direction of travel'of the conveyer and move said chute in the opposite direction to followup the trailing edge of a pan while goods are discharged from it by the brush means."" p p,

6; In combination with a continuously driven conveyer forpans of baked biscuits and the like, means for tilting each pan as it travels through a discharge station so that its leading edge is higher than its trailing edge, and it is inclined not beyond the angle of repose of the biscuits thereon, and brush means arrangedto sweep down the pan to dislodge the biscuits. f

In testimony whereof, we affix our signatures.-

' JOHN CUR-RIE PATERSON. GEORGE DONALD WILSON.

inclined 

